Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Axel Alonso (Executive Editor for Marvel Comics) will be here this Saturday and Sunday for a 2 part workshop in pitching an editor. PLEASE come by and get your learn on!Part 1 - Saturday at 2pm, in room 347Part 2 - Sunday at 1pm, in room 347

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Wacom has teamed up with Deviant Art for a contest. The specifics can be found here at the Wacom Design Contest - OFFICIAL RULES page but check out the prizes below. If you want to enter follow their guidelines and get on it!

PRIZES: One (1) 1st Prize Package consisting of the following: One (1) Wacom Intuos4 large (active area of 12.8" x 8") pen tablet, One (1) copy of Adobe Photoshop CS4 and One (1) copy of Adobe Illustrator CS4, a $1,000 American Express gift card, a 1 year subscription to deviantART, a deviantART Artist's Bag, and a devWEAR shirt of winner's choice (depending on availability.) (Total Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") : $2,946.)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The choices for the student spotlight are getting tougher and tougher to make! But Pat Bollin is one of our strongest artists, designers, communicators, and a bottomless pit of yearning for more knowledge, techniques, work flows, tips, tricks, etc. As a graduate, he's grown to one of our most trusted and able students we've had, past and present. We happily and wholeheartedly enjoy Pat in courses and his involvement in the department has not only made himself stronger but everyone else too. Be sure to check out his blog and website at Bollin's Alley and his wide variety of work, always strong, from concept art, sequential pages, caricature, and more!

Q. Where are you from and what originally got you interested in sequential art?

A. I'm from Ozark, AL. I started making my own comics as early as age 5 or 6. Originally, I think I was just trying to emulate my older brother who was pretty talented himself, but I kept going well after he gave it up. Back then I read whatever I could find locally: Classic Spider-Man, Hulk, Batman, Superman, Ghost Rider, Mad Magazine and the Sunday funnies. My habit was encouraged by my folks. Anything that kept me occupied and willing to read was probably a good thing to them.

Q. What books (comic or otherwise) do you regularly read and why?

A. Lately, I've been reading Hellboy and BPRD, Scott Pilgrim, The Umbrella Academy, The Walking Dead, Y the Last Man, and a few others. I don't pick up much from Marvel or DC anymore, but I was really digging the Punisher for a while and Next Wave rocked my socks off. Outside of comics I do a lot of research and reading on the web, I read how-to books on anything from software to script writing, and sometimes I pick up ImagineFX magazine or something similar.

I'm also influenced by Disney's classic animated films and lots of the work coming out of Pixar and Dreamworks lately. This probably should have been in the previous answer, but I've recently collected and read around 20 "Art of" books from these companies. Learning the production process has really been eye opening.

Q. Do you have a specific process in your work and, if so, what is it?

A. My processes are in constant development.

For comic pages I use Manga Studio EX to layout my panels. I print that out very small to draw my thumbnails in pencil, blow it up in Photoshop, pencil it on a lightbox in blue line pencil, ink it with brushes or markers, and then scan it back into photoshop for color. I would ink in Manga Studio EX, but I fear that I'll never touch a traditional inking tool again if I try it. However, that program is great for tones and certain speed line effects.

For digital painting I use Photoshop. I tried Corel Painter, but it was just too unstable and hard for me to get used to.

I don't do much traditional painting, but when I do its often with airbrush and acrylic paints.

Q. Do you have any professional work that has been published? And are you working on anything currently?

A. I'm working on an Action/SciFi graphic novel that I'm planning to pitch to a few comic companies later this quarter. I'm also doing some design work for a sports promo company.

Q. How do you juggle your work load between college and your freelance life?

A. Time management is a skill I'm still trying to acquire. I often find myself doing all-nighters to keep up with deadlines. But I think I'm finally finding a balance between quality and speed that will hopefully satisfy both my desire to do my best work and the need to get stuff done in a timely manner.

Q. Who would you love to work with one day and why?

A. Brad Bird, maybe. After reading all the Pixar "Art-of" books, he just seems like someone who really understands storytelling and working with creatives.

Q. Where do you hope to see yourself professionally in five to ten years?

A. My goals are to teach art on the college level while producing my own comics/graphic novels. That said, I'm keeping my options open. I've fallen in love with doing concept art and sculpting too, so I'll probably go where opportunity takes me.

Now take some time to check out some of Pat's personal and course work!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Cara McGee has alerted us to the Morning International Comic Competition where you can win some decent cash! The title is misleading in that you do not have to be a Manga artist to submit your work to this competition. Check out the M.I.C.C. website and below for more details. The deadline isn't until December 31, 2009 so get on it!

Morning, with a weekly circulation of more than 400,000 copies and more than 25 years of history, is Japan's largest and most prominent comic magazine for mature readers. Since its very first issue, the magazine has been host to such megahits as Vagabond, The Drops of the Gods (Kami-no-shizuku), The Silent Service, Say hello to BLACK JACK, and GON, and has had continual and significant influence on Japanese society. We are currently broadening our horizons by holding a competition across the globe in order to seek out and develop new talent.Deadline - last acceptable postmark/backstamp on December 31, 2009.

Grand prize - US $5000, with two second prizes of US $2000 each.The grand prize winning entry will be published in the pages of Morning or a special issue of Morning 2 magazine. In addition, the most experienced Morning comics editors will be assigned to the creators of the winning submission to assist in the development of their works. The winning entry and other work from the winning author may also be eligible to be published as independent comic books in Japan and elsewhere. Editors will also be assigned to the two second prize winners, whose entries may potentially be published in Morning, Morning 2 or on our companion website, e-morning. (The selection committee also reserves the right not to award a Grand Prize if no entry is deemed a winner.)

Please refer carefully to the following terms. It will be deemed that you have agreed to all of them upon entry.

[1] Comics' content Submissions ...must be at least 12 pages and not more than 50 pages, ... ...will be restricted to a minimum of 12 pages and a maximum of 50 pages, ... not published in commercial magazines, nor as books or anthologies, in any country.

[2] Rules of illustrationComics on any type of paper, using any kind of drawing tools, will be accepted. Both color and black-and-white will be accepted. However, pieces accepted in color may be published in black and white in Morning magazine. For reference: comics in Japan are normally drawn on B4-sized paper, in black ink, in a 270mm x 180 mm frame. Submissions may be on CD-R or other digital storage media, but we request that printed copies be included with such data-based entries. Text should be in your native language or Japanese, and should be written clearly.

[5] Kodansha Ltd. will automatically obtain the exclusive right to publish all prize-winning works (whether for grand prize or secondary prizes) in magazines, and the exclusive option to exercise the right to publish and/or exploit said works in independent books and on magazine websites, as well as the exclusive option to all other secondary/subsidiary rights with respect to the said works. Kodansha Ltd. will determine whether or not to exercise all foregoing rights and/or options under its sole and absolute discretion.

[6] You must warrant that your entry (comic work) is completely original and of your own creation, All content therein must be accurate and lawful, and not harmful, libelous or defamatory to, or infringing upon the rights of any person or entity in any way. You will be obliged to indemnify any damage Kodansha Ltd. may suffer as a result of any inconsistency with the foregoing requirements.

[7] Release of results: results will be announced on the Morning website (e-morning) around March, 2010.